(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to upright vacuum cleaning appliances applicable in many of its features to either an upright vacuum, a tank type vacuum or one convertible between both modes.
(2) Prior Art
A typical upright vacuum cleaner comprises a base frame which houses a motor and a vacuum cleaning nozzle head. Some type of cover is mounted over the frame to cover these components. A handle is then pivotally mounted to the frame and a collection bag is hung from the handle, with an opening in its lower end being joined to the vacuum passage extending rearwardly in the main frame from the floor engaging nozzle.
Such a construction has gained wide acceptance for bag type vacuum cleaners. The basic concept is to create a frame to which a handle is pivotally mounted and then mount or hang the various components off of these two members. U.S. Pat. No. 1,759,947 to Lee discloses a slight variation wherein a solid dust receptacle as opposed to a bag is mounted between solid support rods extending upwardly on either side of the container from the base frame. As can be seen from the patent to Lee, the concept of building a frame and then hanging components on it can result in somewhat cumbersome approaches to construction. This is particularly true where one diverges from the most conventional concept of simply hanging a collection bag from the upright handle.
The conventional upright vacuum cleaner construction also makes convertibility difficult. Many attempts have been made to provide a vacuum cleaner which is convertible in mode of operation from a conventional upright vacuum cleaner to a tank or canister-type vacuum cleaner. However, the basic construction of these two types of vacuum cleanerss is so different that convertibility has been difficult to achieve. A tank-type vacuum cleaner utilizes some type of solid canister in which a bag is mounted. A motor is then mounted on the top or on the end of the canister and draws a vacuum through a hose which is connected to a floor engaging wand. The canister travels over the floor on wheels or skids. The most common way that prior artisans have achieved convertibility in an upright-type vacuum cleaner is to provide a plate with a hose attached thereto for fixing over the floor engaging nozzle portion of the vacuum cleaner head of an upright vacuum cleaner.
These and other problems of convertibility are addressed by the various aspects of the present invention. However, most aspects of the present invention have applicability in either an upright vacuum cleaner, a tank-type vacuum cleaner or both even without regard to convertibility.